Best Face Forward

In my personal journey of self love, skin care has played a big role.

Why?

Because one of the best feelings is clean, healthy, soft skin, especially on days where you just don’t feel like wearing makeup. Healthy skin makes me feel confident and confidence is key to loving yourself.

I refer to Thursdays as “facemask Thursday.” This term is general because this day is more than facemasks.

Here are some tips and tricks to have glowing, clear skin - with and without makeup.

Step 1. Wash your face

Cleanse with facewash of choice. I use a charcoal blackhead bar to deep-clean my pores. I only use this on Thursdays. Any other day I either use Biore Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser or Origins A Perfect World Antioxidant Cleanser with White Tea. Both leave my skin feeling super soft.

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Step 2. Nose strips

After rinsing suds off your face and patting your skin dry, choose a nose strip. Again, Biore is a prime choice whether it’s the Deep Cleansing Pore Strips (which are white) or Deep Cleansing Charcoal Pore Strips (which are black). My personal favourite are the charcoal but if you’re looking for a product that’s gentle then go with the regular cleansing pore strips. ​When you take the strips out of the box they will have little lines where you can fold the material to make it more fitting and flexible.

Before peeling the felt strip off the plastic make sure you douse your nose with water. I mean douse. Make sure that baby is wet or the strip will not hold properly.

Once your nose is moist press the strip across the bridge and around your nose. Leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes. I set a timer on my phone for 14 minutes because I HATE odd numbers, but I’m just weird. After about 8 minutes you will start to feel the strip harden around your nose and it’ll feel rather stiff. DON’T FRET. Your nose will not become a statue, the strip is doing its job and digging deep down in to your pores cleaning out dirt, grime and blackheads.

When time’s up, gently lift the edges of the strip and peel. You will be able to see all the nasty’s on the strip once you have removed it and that is okay. If you’re using the charcoal strips there will be some black residue. Massage this away with warm water.

​Step 3. Facemask

Now that your nose is baby smooth it’s time to give your cheeks the same favour.

Choose a facemask of preference. If I’m pressed for time I use Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight mask. This one is really nice because you lather a layer, leave it on for 10 minutes and then massage the excess into your skin, which upon waking up will feel extremely soft.

I have yet to try Origins Clear Improvement Active charcoal mask so I can’t say too much about that one.

BUT.

I have used Garnier Skinactive Moisture Bomb Sheet Mask. They work great and leave your skin feeling rejuvenated. When you take the mask out of the package it will be folded and will feel slimy. Unfold it and press it to your face, blue side exposed. When it’s pressed to your face remove the blue layer and fit the mask to cover. Make sure it’s smooth and snug. Leave on for 15 minutes (for me 14 minutes) and then remove. Massage excess amount into skin and you’re good to go.

If you try this process I promise you your skin will stay vibrant and clear throughout the week.

I noticed a difference when I incorporated this into my routine and you will too.

Best face forward.

Let’s go.

One glowing smile at a time.

March Self Love Prompt

Bethe bestversion of yourself

I don’t know about you, but I love the first day of a month. I greet them as if they are people: “Hello March! How are you doing this fine day. It’s so nice to have you back.” I also love using planners. My agenda I use for school has a divider for each month labeled with the month title and a little quote underneath. For March it said: Be the best version of yourself. Heck yes. Because isn’t that what we all want to be. To tag along with this prompt I challenge you to choose one thing you want to improve about yourself for the month of March. For me, I have decided to be more gentle with people’s emotions and opinions. I come off as harsh, blunt and, some may say, too honest, so I want to take into consideration how others feel. How will you be the best version of yourself?

Meet The Co-Founders

Even though the #LoveMe movement was my original idea I am forever grateful for the support I acquired through and for this journey. When I brought this hashtag to Bookstagram there were some people who reached out to me, and I them, because I know they value self-love in a way that is similar to my own values. Without further or due, let's shine some light on the lovely ladies who are co-founders.

Alexandrea Furr // @blondewithbooks

Hey! My name is Alexandrea and I run a bookish website called "Blonde with Books". When I am not blogging or reading by the fire with my coffee and fuzzy socks, I hang out with my dog, Ziggy and help the patients I come in contact with at the hospital I work for. I am extremely excited to be a co-founder of the "#LoveMe" campaign. People around the world tend to forget how fabulously valuable they are, and this movement is gradually changing that way of thinking.

Alyssa Leonard // @readingtoknowimnotalone

​Hiya! I'm Alyssa, a journalism student and book lover from South-Western Ontario. In my spare time I love to read, write, bake, craft, binge netflix and take naps. I am also an advocate of mental illness. Self-love can sometimes be very hard, but it is very important for our mental health. #LoveMe

Sarah // @piesnprose

Hi there! I'm Sarah, a sweet tooth and word enthusiast from NYC. I'm a creative writing student, blogger, baker, and Etsy shop owner. Desserts and books are two great joys in my life and I love sharing that with the world! I hope, through sharing my journey online, that others will find inspiration within a slice of pie or book.​

A Self-Love Movement

​Mental illness, body positivity and self-love all go hand-in-hand.

Say, "I love me."

Take a stand.

For those of you who don't know me, I am Ryan Jones. I am 19 and live in Ontario, Canada. I am in my graduating year of journalism and my passion is reading, writing, lifestyle and well being.

I'm a firm believer (from experience) that an individual's self-love becomes tainted and scratched from society and pop culture -- advertisements, social media, commercials, bullying. These factors gnaw at us until we end up comparing ourselves to every other person on tv, until we compare ourselves to every other person in the room.

But what about ourselves?

Through events of 2017 and 2018 I have learned to focus on myself allowing me to improve my confidence and strengthen the love I have for who I am. This shift of focus from comparison of others to myself was the best decision I've made.

Happiness.

This past Valentine's Day, instead of focusing on iconic dates, roses and chocolates, I made a spur-of-the-moment post and hashtag on Bookstagram: #lovemebv. I challenged people, including myself, to type three things they love about themselves.

It was a success. People not only commented but shared it among their profiles and stories. People then asked me if I would keep this as a continuous movement instead of just for V-Day.

Well here I am.

Meet my hashtag campaign:#LoveME

The goal of the campaign is in the hashtag. I want people to be able to say to themselves, "I love me."

Through this hashtag and its challenges (such as listing three things you love about yourself) I plan to influence society in a positive way, to combat negative body image and mental illness.

Everyone deserves love and it needs to start within if we want to show others love as well.